Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though?

After finishing dinner at the inn, the group scattered in different directions.

Gerard, as usual, disappeared off somewhere on his own. Elonen said he was going to help someone who was sick. And Kakaros, ever the sleepy one, headed straight back to his room.

That left just me and Kyle alone in the dining hall.

It felt awkward with just the two of us, and I also wanted a chance to talk to Larry, so I waited for Kyle to leave. But Kyle didn’t seem inclined to go anywhere. Instead, he just kept staring quietly at me.

“Kyle, don’t you have anything to do?”

“Nope. Not really.”

I asked, testing the waters, but Kyle answered as if it were nothing. I started searching for an excuse to get up alone.

“Then I’ll just… take a quick look around town.”

“It’s dangerous at this hour. I’ll go with you.”

I’d meant to shake him off naturally, but apparently came up with the wrong kind of excuse. Was he just dense, or was he picking up on it and refusing to leave me alone?

It was too late to change what I’d said. Kyle was already rising from his seat.

“What are you doing? Gonna just sit there?”

Seeing me hesitate, Kyle urged me on. In the end, I gave up on meeting Larry and stood up.

We stepped out of the inn and walked through the dark night streets. A cool, briny sea breeze blew against us, and the sound of waves crashing never stopped.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in such a quiet town.”

Kyle was the first to break the silence as we walked side by side.

“Yeah.”

I’d already lost track of how many towns we’d passed with the hero’s party, but he was right. This was the first one this silent.

Even the tiniest mountain villages had people gathered and chatting, but this harbor town, despite having ships docked, felt like a ghost city.

Looking toward the pier, I saw waves rushing in to shatter against the stone walls. A dozen or so boats moored there rocked gently with the tide.

It was my first time seeing the sea since coming to this world. Staring down at the black waves, their depth impossible to measure, it felt like I might be swallowed whole.

For a world that was supposed to exist only inside a novel, everything was vividly alive.

“Is traveling like this okay for you? Isn’t it hard tagging along?”

Lost in thought, I was startled when Kyle suddenly asked with quiet concern.

“I’m fine.”

“If walking is tiring, maybe after we land we could get a carriage or something.”

Why was he acting like he cared so much all of a sudden? I gave him a wary glance but shook my head.

“Have you remembered anything yet?”

“…Not really.”

I murmured softly, my eyes drifting over the hushed, almost brooding town.

Here and there, houses with faint lights glimmered. It felt strange, realizing people really lived even in places like this.

Kyle often said this. Everyone has their own story. Even in a small fishing village like this, each person must have their own tale.

Honestly, I wasn’t the most empathetic person. I’d never cared much for other people’s stories.

But Kyle… Him, I could say I knew well. Because I’d watched his story unfold in the novel.

Kyle was someone unloved by his family but still capable of giving love to others. The polar opposite of me.

“…I’m curious about something.”

“What is it?”

I’d barely started to speak when Kyle’s eyes lit up and he looked at me eagerly, almost happy that I was the one to initiate.

“Kyle, why did you decide to become a hero?”

But the question seemed to catch him off guard. He blinked wide-eyed and sank into thought.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I ever wanted to be a hero.”

“Then why are you one? Why help other people?”

Kyle, who’d been walking behind me at a leisurely pace, suddenly stopped.

Helping strangers. People take it as the obvious right thing to do, but in truth, it’s one of the hardest things in the world.

Humans are selfish. And I don’t say that because I believe in some dark theory about human nature. It’s just that any being with a sense of self inevitably puts themselves first.